Readers Write (Oct. 19): Business environment, presidential debates, voter registration, work rules, Vikings stadium, twerking grandmas

Lee Schafer (Business, Oct. 11) states that the move of ConAgra's headquarters from Omaha to Chicago shows that big cities still reign, but his analysis is faulty. After the move, Omaha will still be the headquarters for four Fortune 500 companies, or about one for every 225,000 people in the metropolitan area. The ratio is about the same for Minneapolis-St. Paul. The ratio for Chicago is about one for every 300,000 residents, and the ratio for Boston is one Fortune 500 company headquarters for every 470,000 people in the metropolitan area. Schafer presents no good evidence that supports his argument that cities the size of Omaha and the Twin Cities are at a disadvantage compared to larger cities.

The presidential nominating debates continue to perpetuate misconceptions about what counts for the average citizen's well-being and living standard. The candidates imply or actually state that it is the role of government to solve every problem for citizens. Their positions are replete with platitudes, passions, social justice; in other words, complete absence of basic economics or the factors that really count. What matters in the lives of the "middle class" is not what government can do for you; rather it is what you do for yourself.

What drives the American economy is our free-enterprise system, unencumbered by expanding government and its proliferation of rules and regulations. One of our major political parties hopes to reduce government and permit business and industry to expand, create jobs, grow opportunities, etc. Individuals can do a better job themselves — namely, completing education, unmarried women not getting pregnant, avoiding gang membership, not using or peddling drugs, etc. Personal responsibility works for people, not governments and dependency.

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It has been equally interesting and sad to read the letters to the editor after the debates. Depending on which way a person leans, they seem to look through either Michael Moore- or Rush Limbaugh-colored glasses, certain that those on their side are principled angels wearing halos, while the other side has never done anything right. Perhaps we could be even a greater country if some would set down their pitchforks and pay a little closer attention to reality.

An Oct. 15 letter writer suggests that Minnesota should follow California and Oregon by combining voter registration with driver's license application. On the face of it, that seems a little backward since Minnesota consistently has the best voter turnout in the nation. Who should follow whom?

In the latest presidential year, Minnesota turned out 76 percent of its eligible voters. Oregon, with significantly fewer eligible, turned out only 64 percent; California, our most populous state, turned out an embarrassing 56 percent, wallowing in the bottom 10 states for turnout.

Minnesota's system of allowing registration at the polls on Election Day contributes greatly to its high ranking. Apparently, Minnesota is doing something very right. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

The Star Tribune Editorial Board's concern in "Anti-business agenda should be scrapped" (Oct. 16) is that more city-mandated benefits for workers in Minneapolis "stifles growth and leads to fewer jobs."

My counterproposal is that the city mandate $1-per-hour wages and no health benefits for all workers in all businesses in Minneapolis.

The explosion of job opportunities and business growth will be astounding.

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The headline "Anti-business agenda should be scrapped" shouts volumes about the Strib's current ownership.

Recently we had the privilege of touring the new Vikings stadium (on TV). My goodness, it's big. The playing field, seen from the upper-level seats, seems miles away, and awfully small.

I asked my viewing partner, a big football fan (the New Orleans Saints): Isn't the playing field kind of small? No, she said, it's regulation, 100 yards long; the same size for pewee, high school, college and the pros.

But, I asked, aren't the Vikings players more than twice the size, sometimes four times the size of those other football players? Shouldn't the pro field be bigger since the crowds are bigger, and — oh, by the way — look at the gargantuan size of the building. From Chicago Avenue it looks like the bow of a world-ending Noah's Ark and from Portland Avenue a Sinclair gas station on steroids.

How about if they make the pro field 200 yards long and 100 yards wide? This would be more in proportion to the pro football players, and then on Friday nights we could divide it into four fields and have four high-school games (indoors) simultaneously.

The writer is an architect.

I cringed when I saw in the Oct. 13 Variety section that older women were used as entertainment during a Minnesota Lynx finals game at Target Center. I abhor the disrespectful and demeaning way middle-aged and elderly women are portrayed in the media. Even the headline ("Twerk it, grandma") was a humiliating attempt at humor.

The Senior Dancers are popular at these events not because of their physical prowess and their athleticism — it is only for a good laugh. The Star Tribune ought to be ashamed! It's just too easy to assume that our elders have nothing to contribute to our society except for giggles about their age. Time and again the media portrays people older than 65 as a joke, as irrelevant and filled to the brim with disabilities. The Senior Dancers twerking, jiggling, shaking their hips and making duck lips to the crowd highlights foolish preconceived notions that these ladies' worth is tied only to a declining physical presence.

It is to our detriment that we disregard the wisdom, the intelligence and the stamina of this highly valuable, extraordinary group of people. After all, they bring so much more to the table.